Eleanor Miriam Chase

Eleanor Miriam Furbush Chase, 89, of 125 Quaker Hill Lane, Portsmouth, RI, died Friday, November 27, 2009 at St. Elizabeths Manor, Bristol, RI. She was predeceased by her husband of 53 years Forster Elwood Chase.Born in Waterville, ME on October 1, 1920, she was the daughter of the late George Elton and Carrie Belle Moody Furbush.Mrs. Chase was a Graduate of Colby College in Waterville, Maine and then entered the US Navy as a WAVE. She attended Katherine Gibbs Secretarial School in Boston. After meeting her husband in Newport they married on June 5, 1948 and raised their three children. She worked as a secretary at the former Coggeshall School in Portsmouth and retired in 1975. Mrs. Chase was an active member of St. Marys Episcopal Church. She was involved in the Womens Club, as well as other church organizations. Eleanor also volunteered her time for Meals on Wheels and enjoyed her membership in the Portsmouth Garden Club. She loved to return to Maine, enjoyed summers on Damariscotta Lake at the family camp. She was a devoted mother and grandmother to her family, and a caring friend to all who knew her. She is survived by two sons George Chase of North Kingstown, RI, and Tom Chase of Sterling, MA, a daughter Virginia Phinney of Strafford, NH, and four grandchildren Anna Chase, Emily Chase, Kristen Heath, and Jason Phinney.A memorial service will be held on Saturday, December 5, 2009, at 11:00 am in St. Marys Episcopal Church, 324 East Main Road, Portsmouth, with burial in St. Marys Churchyard following.In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to St. Marys Episcopal Church, 324 East Main Road, Portsmouth, RI 02871, the Diabetes Foundation Of Rhode Island, 1117 Douglas Avenue, Unit 2, North Providence, RI 02904, or to the American Heart Association, 222 Richmond Street, Suite 108, Providence, RI 02903.